FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Police Chief Andy Hall officially takes his place heading up Fresno Police Department, after an emotion-filled ceremony Wednesday at Fresno City Hall.
Chief Hall is the 22nd person to run the department.
He applied to be a police cadet at 18, and spent the next 40 years with the department, creating Fresno PD’s mobile field unit, and receiving the Medal of Valor.
Hall was recognized by the state Attorney General for his work on the bomb squad after the Fresno Internal Revenue Service processing center was bombed in 1990.
Chief Hall was a traffic supervisor, when he was promoted to Deputy Chief in October 2016.
Today – promotion ceremony for Deputy Chief Andy Hall. Taking over for retiring Chief Jerry Dyer. It is an impressive sea of blue & white outside @CityofFresno @KMJNOW pic.twitter.com/vuQzDlOOzk
— Liz Kern (@LiziKernNews) October 16, 2019
During Wednesday’s ceremony, Dyer made a few jokes about Hall’s new job working in front of the media.
“See all those cameras, Andy? You can have them all,” joked Dyer.
In turn, Hall said it’s a tough gig to replace Dyer.
“I told everybody, ‘You don’t want to be the chief after Jerry Dyer, you want to be the chief after the chief,” said Chief Hall.
Dyer told the men and women in the Council Chamber that he was most proud that the department under his guidance never lost an officer in the line of duty during his entire tenure.
Dyer was visibly emotional, his voice choking up, and tears in his eyes as he signed off over the police radio for the last time.
Hall thanked his predecessor and said he will continue the good works, paying special attention to the department’s community-based efforts.
Chief of Police Andy Hall will remain as acting chief until his retirement in 2021.
KMJ’s Dan West filed this report:
Promotion of Fresno Police Chief Andy Hall. Former Chief Jerry Dyer passing the baton…
Posted by KMJNOW on Wednesday, October 16, 2019
